Primary School

Primary school kids are like sponges. They’re so open and receptive to all sorts of learning experiences, especially when it comes to learning new sports. That’s why it’s such a great age to introduce them to tennis. To help teachers who aren’t tennis specialists feel more confident about teaching the game, we deliver free training, free resources and free equipment.

Mini Tennis makes a big impression on primary school kids

No two primary school children are the same. They all have different levels of ability. But the great thing about tennis is that it can be adapted to suit any child. Take Mini Tennis, for example. With smaller courts, rackets and nets, as well as lower bouncing balls, it’s a great way to introduce children to the game. Before too long, they’ll be playing and having fun, at the same time as developing their agility, balance and coordination. Not only that, they’ll have caught the tennis bug, developing a sporting habit that will stay with them for life.

Free training with a three-hour course for primary school teachers. This compact but comprehensive training session is designed to take teachers who are not PE specialists to a point where they can deliver a great tennis experience to a class full of children in a small space using Mini Tennis.

Free resources based around an innovative DVD teaching aid designed to be played directly to the children. It contains tennis demonstrations and is structured to help them progress in the game. It provides a five week block of activity, with sessions for 4-7, 7-9 and 9-11 year olds. Teachers get a set of lesson plans, with information on how to deliver a session through warm-ups, ABCs (agility, balance, coordination and speed exercises), themed activities and finishing with either a game or a fun competition. Download a digital copy of the Primary Schools Tennis Teacher’s Handbookand Out of Schools Hours Toolkit.

Since 2009, as a charity the Tennis Foundation has invested in providing more than £10m worth of tennis equipment to schools. This investment has helped 20,000 schools provide a positive experience of tennis to their pupils, many of which for the first time.

Having now successfully delivered this equipment to such an extent, and as part of the evolution of the Tennis Foundation’s school tennis strategy, we are now directing spend towards new programmes focussed on providing high quality access to our sport, such as ‘School of Tennis’. Doing so will enable us to best deliver the mission of our charity to help people enjoy the many health and social benefits of tennis, whilst maximising their personal potential.

As a result, from 1st August 2017, we will unfortunately no longer be providing a free Schools Tennis Equipment Pack for attendees at our 3 hour Teacher Training courses. We are, however, currently developing an equipment discount offer, which will be provided to teachers attending courses from 1st August onwards, and which will replace the current free Schools Tennis Equipment Pack.

Everything else remains the same – the Tennis Foundation will continue to provide its 3 hour Teacher Training Courses, places at which will remain free, and attendees will still receive the specialist resources linked to each course, free of charge.